1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an impact damping member for motor vehicles arranged as a safety member between the bumper element and the frame of the motor vehicle. The impact damping member absorbs energy by deformation during a collision of the motor vehicle with an obstacle.
2. Description of the Related Art
A prior art impact damping member for motor vehicles is disclosed in German patent document 298 08 143 U1. It is arranged as a safety member between a bumper element and the frame of the motor vehicle and is comprised of an extruded inner profiled member supported inside an outer tube. The outer tube and the inner profiled member deform upon impact to thereby absorb the impact energy. A portion of the length of the impact damping member has a truss structure and is thus relatively rigid. Furthermore, the holding device for attachment to the bumper element is designed for only a certain type of bumper element.
The primary objective of providing a motor vehicle with bumper elements and impact damping members is to protect the passengers in the vehicle and to prevent damage to the frame in order to avoid expensive repairs of the vehicle. It is essential in this context to design the impact damping member in a way that is beneficial with regard to production engineering aspects and such that it is as light as possible, while fulfilling certain minimum requirements with regard to its energy absorption capacity.
A lightweight construction results in a reduction of fuel consumption and accompanying pollutant emissions. At the same time, the impact damping members must have sufficient stability with regard to safety-technological aspects in order to ensure the required buckle resistance in the longitudinal direction. The weight reduction thus has limits within which the material and construction parameters can be adjusted.